Conventionally, various casters with hand brakes for bags have been developed. Same as the casters for the luggage carts, there are several types of casters with brakes for bags. One example is a wire-type brake in which a wire is pulled for applying brake. Another example is a rod-link type brake in which a rod is pushed or pulled for applying brake via a link. If such a hand brake for carts is simply applied to a bag caster, that hand brake becomes inconvenient to carry the bag. Therefore, there are various elaborations for embedding the hand brake inside the bag. Some examples of the conventional technology relevant to the above-mentioned caster brakes are shown below.
The lock mechanism of a caster described in the patent literature 1 is the lock capable of being operated even by a small force. As shown in FIG. 10(a), the tip and the rear end of a lever are alternately and vertically movable. A stopper can lock a wheel of a caster with the upward movement. An arm is capable of vertically sliding because the upper end side is connected to the rear end side of the lever. One end of the first connection rod is fixed to a bag body but capable of rotating. The other end is connected to the lower end of the arm. The middle part of the second connection rod is fixed to the bag body but capable of rotating. One end of the second connection rod is connected close to one end of the first connection rod. The other end of the second connection rod is connected to the stopper.
The caster for suitcases described in the patent literature 2 is the caster capable of applying brakes certainly and of being operated conveniently. As shown in FIG. 10(b), a wheel-seat with an upper through-hole is mounted fixedly on the suitcase. A bracket with a lower through-hole is abutting the wheel-seat via a shaft. Rotator and repressor are composed coaxially and abutting the bracket via an axle. The diameter of the rotator of the wheel is larger than the diameter of the repressor. There are a switching means, a following rod and a braking means. The switching means is abutting the wheel-seat via the shaft and capable of swinging between the first position and the second position. There are a contacting end and a driving end. The contacting end appears outside of the wheel-seat. The following rod is running through the upper through-hole of the wheel-seat and the lower through-hole of the bracket. The top end of the following rod is abutting the driving end of the switching means via the shaft. The braking means is connected to the bottom end of the following rod and has a stopping means.
The suitcase described in the patent literature 3 is a traveling bag having a braking system for stopping rotation of two caster wheels simultaneously. As shown in FIG. 10(c), the suitcase has a case body, two caster units, a controller, two actuators and two co-working means. The caster unit contains a hollow pipe, a caster base and a caster. The controller is connected to the case body via a shaft and capable of switching to either braking position or non-braking position. An actuating end for giving external action is made at the front end of the controller and a driving end is made at the back-end. The actuators are positioned at the top end in the case body and at the bottom end outside of the case body. There is at least one stopper at the bottom end. One end of the co-working means and the driving end of the controller are connected and the other end is connected to the top end of the actuator.